In January, 2003 we became involved in a large scale rescue of a defunct sanctuary in Conroe Texas. A number of the wolfdogs had become gravely ill, and a number of them had perished due to a distemper outbreak. From what we have learned, Welela was one of seven pups and their parents taken from a backyard breeder in New Mexico in the spring of 1999 and transferred to the North American Wolf Association (NAWA).

When we came upon him, he was in a makeshift cage with his sibling Welela, and two unrelated females named Nahima and Aiyana. He was wary of people and aggressively guarded his cagemates by charging the fence.

The NAWA staff named him Yana Usdi which is the Cherokee word for little bear. Seeing photos of him as a young pup, it is easy to understand how the pup got his name. Yana is now quite the laid back animal. He surveys his domain from a shady spot amongst the boulders while he carefully watches his girls, Welela, Aiyana and Nahima..